Second Day Sweep Keeps Gators in Playoff Hunt

Apr 22, 2007

Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box

OBERLIN, Ohio – Allegheny College’s second-day sweep of Oberlin College has put the Gators in the driver’s seat for the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) playoffs heading into the final weekend of the conference season. Allegheny took both ends of a double header today (April 22), winning the opener 6-1 before dominating in the nightcap 18-4.

Wooster leads the NCAC East with a perfect 15-0 record, and has secured the top seed for the NCAC playoffs. Allegheny currently stands in second place, and is in line for the second and final bid out of the Eastern Division. The Gators are currently 11-16 overall and 7-5 in their division, two and a half games up on Kenyon College (13-12, 2-5 NCAC East), this weekend’s quadruple header opponent, and two games up on Oberlin College (12-20, 6-8 NCAC East). Kenyon has a double header on Wednesday against Hiram, before traveling to Meadville on April 28 and 29, and then hosting Oberlin College the following Tuesday.

In today’s opener, the Gators jumped out quickly to a 1-0 lead after the first inning, as Jimmy Fernandez (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) singled in Brian Schmidt (Utica, Pa./Franklin), giving the Gators the first tallies of the contest. After being held scoreless in the second inning, the Gator bats came alive in the third inning when Eric Rich (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) reached on a bases-loaded error, scoring Pete Obourn (Farmington, N.Y./Victor). James Fago (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Schmidt, before Alex Herrnberger (Eight Four, Pa./Canon McMillan) singled in Fernandez, giving the Gators a 4-0 lead.

After being held scoreless again in the fourth inning, the Blue and Gold scored a run in both the fifth and sixth innings. A Herrnberger home run provided the run in the fifth, while a Fernandez double, scoring Schmidt provided the finishing touches on a six-run game for the Gators. Oberlin mounted a comeback in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring an unearned run on a fielding error, but that would be all the hosts would push across in the 6-1 Allegheny win.

The Gators pounded out 10 hits in the game, two each from Schmidt (2-for-3), Fernandez (2-for-2), Herrnberger (2-for-3) and Obourn (2-for-4). Fernandez and Herrnberger each drove in a pair of runs, with Schmidt scoring a team-high three times. Mike Pereslucha (Pittsburgh, Pa./Kiski) picked up the win on the mound, improving his record to 3-0 on the year after pitching six and a third inning, scattering three hits and striking out six.

Oberlin’s three hits came from three different batters, while their solitary run in the seventh was scored by Cal Kyrkostas. Eric Gibbs dropped his record to 1-3 on the season, pitching the entire seven innings, giving up 10 hits and three earned runs while striking out three.

The Gators once again started the game strong, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning of the nightcap, the first two runs coming on a Herrnberger bases-loaded double, scoring Fernandez and Rich, before Steve Beckett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) singled in Fago, giving the Gators a 3-0 advantage. Oberlin fought back, scoring three runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning, knotting the game at three before the Blue and Gold added another run in the top of the second inning on back-to-back-to-back singles, the final one coming from the bat of Fago, scoring Fernandez.

After holding the Yeomen scoreless in the bottom of the second inning, the Gators used a four-run third inning to blow open the game for the Gators. Schmidt walked with the bases loaded to start the scoring in the inning, bringing in Beckett, before Fernandez drove in Zach Skowvron (Georgetown, Pa./South Side Beaver) and Pereslucha with a single. Rich followed with a sacrifice fly, scoring Schmidt, giving the Gators a commanding 8-3 lead.

Oberlin added a run in the bottom of the third inning before Allegheny erupted with a seven-run fourth inning, taking an already-large 8-4 lead to 15-4 halfway through the contest. Pereslucha started the scoring in the inning by hitting his third three-run home run of the week, scoring Beckett, Herrnberger and himself. Three batters later Fernandez hit a bases-loaded single, scoring Skowvron, before Rich grounded out to the first baseman, scoring Obourn. A Fago sacrifice fly and a Herrnberger single scored Schmidt and Fernandez, giving the Gators their 11-run advantage.

A pair of runs in the fifth inning on a Fernandez two-run home run, and another in the seventh when Greg Martin (Staten Island, N.Y./Poly Prep) scored, put the finishing touches on an 18-4 Allegheny win.

Fernandez was a near-perfect 4-for-5 from the plate driving in five runs and scoring four times, helping the Gators to a 17-for-40 day at the plate. Rich (2-for-5), Herrnberger (2-for-4) and Beckett (2-for-2) each had multiple hits in the winning effort. Skowvron scored three times in the contest, with Pereslucha, Beckett and Schmidt each scoring twice. Aaron Skalko (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane) picked up the win for the Gators, pitching the final four innings of the contest, scattering four hits and giving up no earned runs. J.R. Hess (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) started the game for Allegheny, pitching the first three innings, striking out three and giving up just two hits, but walked five and hit two, giving up a total of four runs during the span.

Oberlin’s P.J. Carter picked up the loss in the nightcap, dropping his record to 0-5 after pitching the first three innings of the game, giving up 10 hits and 11 runs, seven of which were earned, while striking out two and walking three. Jesse Cullen-DuPont and Jeremy Simon each picked up two hits in the game, the former going 2-for-2 and the latter 2-for 3, while Simon driving in two in the loss.

On Tuesday the Gators play host to the Lions of Penn State Behrend, with the first pitch set for 2:00 p.m., before hosting Kenyon for a pair of double headers on Saturday and Sunday, Saturday’s starting at 1:00 p.m. and Sundays at noon.

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